The pension risk transfers (PRT) transactions include one in the UK and the other in the US, totaling $144m 

Legal & General

Legal & General to cover two PRT transactions, in the UK and in the US. (Credit: Legal & General Group Plc.)

British financial services company Legal & General has agreed two pension risk transfer (PRT) transactions with HIS Markit, one in the US and the other in the UK, totaling $144m.

The pension schemes covered by Legal & General include the IHS Retirement Income Plan in the US and the IHS (Global) Ltd. Pension and Life Assurance Scheme in the UK.

While the US transaction amounted to $97.2m, covering around 1,200 members, the UK transaction was for £37.8m ($46.7m), covering around 150 members.

Legal & General said that the two transactions show the continued appetite for PRT in the US and the UK.

Last month, the company completed seventeen bulk annuity transactions in the US and in the UK, securing $1.7bn of pensioner and deferred members’ benefits, including the latest transactions.

The transactions builds on Legal & General’s last year UK PRT of £10.3bn

The transaction completed by Legal & General as of 30 April 2020 builds on its last year’s transactions of amounting to £10.3bn for UK PRT and $1.1bn of PRT in the US.

IHS Markit provides research, market intelligence and analysis and has been a client for Legal & General Investment Management for more than 15 years.

Legal & General Retirement America president George Palms said: “We are proud to be working alongside our UK colleagues and IHS Markit on our first cross-country deal, sharing expertise and resources to deliver a coordinated transaction.

“This deal demonstrates our unique offering, with experts in the US and UK working to meet the continued client demand we’re observing.”

Willis Towers Watson offered advice on both the transactions, while Sackers and Blake Morgan provided legal advice to the Trustees of the IHS (Global) Ltd. Pension and Life Assurance Scheme

In February, Legal & General announced the completion of a de-risking transaction for the AIB Group UK Pension Scheme, covering more than 1,300 members.

The transaction was a split between £850m pension buy-in and £250m Assured Payment Policy.

For the transaction, the company used its new solution that it had developed and further tailored for the scheme in partnership with advisors for the Trustee and its sponsor, Allied Irish Banks